Zeman Follows China’s Lead: Counsels Pope on Archbishop of Prague

Prague, Feb 17 (CTK) – President Milos Zeman will certainly not help his neighbour from the Prague Castle, Prague Archbishop Cardinal Dominik Duka, if he really sends a letter to Pope Francis, asking him to prolong Duka’s tenure in the church hierarchy, Petr Suchomel writes in Mlada fronta Dnes (MfD) today.

 

In fact, the information will be quite different than intended by the writer of the letter: Prague is making a political pressure on the pope for the sake of a senior church dignitary.

 

This is an intervention in the affair that is solely within the power of the pope, something which really makes him the pope, the Roman bishop, the first among bishops.

 

A political request that wants to influence his decision is not only offensive, but it may also prompt the Holy See to examine what is really going on in the Czech Republic and whether something immature exists in the relationship between the church and the state there.

 

Zeman is about to do something which may humiliate and offend the Holy See. He also shows that he absolutely misunderstands what a bishop means for the church and why the pope entrusts posts to bishops, Suchomel writes.